Learn to Plan for Economic and Marketing Success in a Horticultural Enterprise of any type

A study focussing on managing Economics, Planning and Marketing of operations in horticulture. Your ability to manage a business can make a huge difference to your success in horticulture. In this course, you will learn to the business side of horticulture, including how to plan and implement effective strategies for your business and/or services.

“Building on the first operational business module this course delves into the prominent legal aspects of the horticulture industry in terms of contract and employment law as well as sound financial practices. In addition, man management techniques designed to improve productivity are discussed. Ideal for anyone in a horticultural management position.” - Gavin Cole B.Sc., Psych.Cert., Cert.Garden Design, MACA, ACS Tutor.

Lesson Structure

There are 9 lessons in this course:

The Economic Environment

The world of economics

Scarcity

Opportunity costs

Goods

Definitions

Economic systems

Economic ownership

Performance criteria for an economy

Other economic performance indicators

Basic economic principles

Law of demand

Law of Substitution

Law of diminishing return

Law of diminished marginal utility

Competition

Sustainability

Total Quality Management

Strategic Planning

Creating a strategic plan

European economic union

European Central bank

Asia Pacific Economic Community

External Influences on Horticultural Enterprise

Monopoly

Monopolistic Competition

Oligopoly

Perfect competition

International markets and tradeable commodities

Globalisation

Supply and demand

Market forces

Demand

Supply

Elasticity

Economics of scale

Cost structures

Liquidity

Information Management for Horticulture

Scope and nature of office work

Functions of an office

Common jobs in an office: reception, clerical, secretarial, information processing

Departments within an organisation

Office processes

Data knowledge, strage and management

Filing systems

Classifying information

Hard copy

Filing procedure

Active and inactive records

Computer databases

Designing a filing system

Data protection

Financial records

Books needed in business

Different ways to approach bookkeeping

Steps in the bookkeeping process

Developing a record keeping and accounting system

Flow of information

Financial reports

Ledger

Journal

Source documents

Cash transactions

Credit transactions

Returns and allowances

Other business documents

Use of business documents

The cash book

Credit sales and credit purchases journal

The general journal

The ledger

A trial balance

Bank reconciliation

Petty cash

Strategic Planning in Horticulture

Strategic planning

Documenting the strategy

Operational planning

Documenting an operational plan

Key components of a business plan

SWOT analysis

A planning procedure

Decisions

What to plan for

Finance

Structure for a Financial plan

Developing a budget

Structure for a marketing plan

Plan drawing

Implementing Strategies

Implementing strategy

Benchmarking

Reviewing strategy and strategy management

Environmental audits

Key elements of EIA

Steps in an environmental assessment process

Study design

Baseline studies

Predicting impacts

Mitigation measures

Flora and fauna assessment

Open space management plan

Rehabilitation plan

Developing a Business Plan

Business planning

Case study: nursery development plan

Sensitivity analysis

PBL project to formulate criteria required for the successful implementation of a business proposal to develop a business plan.

Business Control Systems for Horticulture

Financial statements

The balance sheet

Classification in the balance sheet

Working capital

Profit and loss statement

Link between profit and balance sheet

Depreciation of assets

Analysis and interpretation of accounting reports

Analytical ratios

Ratio yardsticks

Profitability ratios

Operating efficiency ratios

Efficiency ratios and profitability

Liquidity ratios

Liquidity analysis and cash budgeting

Financial stability ratios

Gearing rate of return on investment

Limitations to ratio analysis

Risk

Risk analysis

Contingency planning

Business systems

Quality systems

Innovation management

PERT (Program evaluation and review)

CPA (Critical path analysis)

GNATT ChartsFastest and slowest completion times

Business expansion and sources of finance

Record keeping

Evaluating Horticultural Marketing

Introduction

Market research

The marketing mix

Marketing planning

Services marketing

Customer service

Buying, selling and decision making

Different heuristics

Decision making process

Customer satisfaction

Goodwill

Marketing Strategies for Horticulture

Target markets and market segmentation

Targeting strategies

Defining your target market

Determining market segmentation

Projecting the future

Positioning

Case study: The market for landscape contractors

The business portfolio

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

Explain the economic environment in which horticultural business operates.

Appraise the impact of external influences.

Establish the type of information required for operations in both commercial businesses and service organisations.

Examine the process and analyse approaches to strategic planning.

Examine the process and analyse approaches to strategy formation and implementation.

Prepare a business plan.

Assess the importance of business control systems utilising IT integration into financial management; prepare, read and interpret annual statements, appreciate the importance of budgetary control.

Understanding supply and demand is a basis for success in horticulture

An understanding of the balance between supply and demand is of fundamental importance. In a free enterprise exchange economy, as with agricultural and horticultural produce, prices are usually determined by the interaction between supply and demand. Other product prices are also determined this way but they don't normally fluctuate to the same degree.

Market Forces

The interaction of supply and demand and how that shapes a market economy is commonly termed as the ‘market forces’.

Demand

Without demand, supply will stagnate hence marketing sets out to stimulate demand. If demand is not sustained, production must slow down with resultant unemployment and loss of profits both in production and in every aspect of the distributive system.

Factors determining demands are:

Consumer’s income.

Price of produce (or services).

Price of competing produce (or services).

Price of complementary produce (or services).

Season, weather conditions, consumer tastes, trends, or other such factors.

Price increases normally produce a change in demand.

A lower price generally means a larger quantity consumed. If the price increases, then the demand usually decreases and a smaller quantity will be consumed .

As income increases, consumption generally increases, but the buyer may change his/her priorities ie. 10 percent increase in income generally means only 1-2 percent increase in food consumption. However there is a general trend that this increase will be demand for processed or convenience foods.

For food consumption to increase, the population must increase!

The price of competing/substitute goods may directly affect the demand of produce ie. an increase in price of competitive goods generally means the demand for other produce will increase eg. apples: pears are substitute goods. If the price of apples increases then the demand for pears may increase (if the pears are competitively priced).

The purchasing pattern of salad vegetables shows a good example of complementary produce. When lettuce is in demand, tomatoes and other salad vegetables will also increase in demand, and consequently price.

Supply

If supply shifts leftward up the demand curve, the price will increase and quantity decrease.

Interaction of Supply and Demand

Where the demand and supply curves intersect is where the quantity demanded by consumers equals the quantity supplied by producers. At any lower price, amount demanded exceeds amount supplied. At any higher price, amount supplied exceeds amount demanded.

Some Factors that Determine Supply

Supply can be interrupted due to diverse reasons and depending on the product; food products contend with weather, land availability, labour, pest and disease problems and so on.

Consolidation of markets - for example fresh food sales are now dominated by a limited number of retail chains - in some markets this comprises more then 70% of sales.

Competition – global sourcing through open international markets; improved internal efficiency by large companies; improved relationships with suppliers leading to greater control over quality, price and availability to consumers.

Alliances – between large stake-holders are formed to meet ever-changing market requirements ie. in relation to quality assurance, international trade regulations, and traceability requirements. This also improves and increases co-operative strength and competitiveness through an integrated supply chain from the producer to the consumer.

Trade policies – introducing change to price and policy governing the sale of products by both domestic and foreign governments ie. restricting access to export markets or the introduction of subsidies to local producers etc.

Organisational responses - ie. if demand for pink grapefruit rises, suppliers respond by encouraging greater production output by existing producers or by new producers entering the market. A sudden subsequent fall in demand could then create an over-supply – impacting on either the price or the producer (ie. prices go up and/or producers leave the market). Understanding and predicting change in the market is a complex but necessary part of business operations.

There are many different types of horticulture-related businesses from those providing supplies to the industry to those doing the growing. Others may be involved in landscape construction or garden design. No matter what the business is, there are certain day-to-day operations which will required. Sometimes these operations are the same or similar, in other instances they may be quite different. Nevertheless, the key to good business management is how to run these daily operations optimally. On top of this, running a successful business involves planning ahead, evaluating risks and marketing. This course provides students with insight into how to do all these things and more.

People who may be interested in this course include those who are work in, or who hope to work in:

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Dr. Lynette Morgan

Broad expertise in horticulture and crop production. She travels widely as a partner in Suntec Horticultural Consultants, and has clients in central America, the USA, Caribbean, South East Asia, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.

John Mason

Parks Manager, Nurseryman, Landscape Designer, Garden Writer and Consultant.
Over 40 years experience; working in Victoria, Queensland and the UK.
He is one of the most widely published garden writers in the world; author of more than 70 books and edito

Adriana Fraser

Over 30 years working in horticulture, as a gardener, propagator, landscape designer
, teacher and consultant. Adriana has spent much of her life living on large properties, developing and maintaining her own gardens, and living a semi self sufficient li

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